Who’s ready for the second book in the Zaria Fierce Trilogy? I am!!! Tonight I completed the second draft of Zaria Fierce and the Enchanted Drakeland Sword. Here are the new totals: Second Draft: 42,936 words Total writing time in draft: 3 days 21 hours 52 minutes The next draft I will focus on all the […]

I was doodling while on the phone and this is what came out. It’s theoretically Zaria, although it didn’t start there. I started with practicing drawing braids, which I’ve never really done before successfully. My favorite part is her boots. I just love the cutaway on the one, which shows off her socks.

I was playing around the other day doodling Olaf’s face and I liked it so much I thought I would finish the piece. He’s supposed to look mean and scary but I’m told he’s much too wise looking. I think it’s the hands. He’s supposed to be reaching out for Zaria in a menacing way, […]

Welcome everyone! Join me over at Meredith’s blog, All ‘Bout Them Books and Stuff for part two in an interview series with Eoghan Kerrigan, the illustrator for Zaria Fierce! Learn Eoghan’s favorite characters and see some of his favorite drawings. Meredith also reviewed Zaria Fierce and had this to say: Overall, this was a fantastic […]

If You Love Suzanne Collins: A Comparison of Hunger Games and Gregor the Overlander

by Captain Yarr

My two books for this comparison essay are Gregor The Overlander and The Hunger Games, both by Suzanne Collins. Gregor the Overlander is about Gregor and his little sister Boots falling into the underworld and trying to get out, but not knowing how. This book ends with Gregor finding his lost-since-he-was-little father and the two of them getting out of the Underland, knowing that they’ll never be the same. Hunger Games is about Katniss taking her sister’s place when she’s called into the Hunger Games and trying to survive in the arena with Peeta (the boy called into the Hunger Games for district 12). This book ends with her and Peeta winning the Hunger Games and the two of them happily returning to District 12 to their families and having an unforgettable experience.

There are many similarities between these two books. Such as: they both have mind blowing experiences. Gregor was in the Underworld and fighting to search for his father, and Katniss was fighting for survival in the arena. They also have similar plots, for they both are fighting and searching for their life. They both have someone as their sidekick/companion. For Gregor it was Boots, and for Katniss it was Peeta. These two books are alike because the main characters both cared for their friends and family and didn’t want them to suffer. Katniss didn’t want Prim to suffer, and Gregor didn’t want his Mother and Boots to suffer. Gregor and Katniss both had similar solutions. They both return home safe and secure, and they’re both not sure what’s going to happen next.

There were also many differences between these two books. At first Gregor didn’t know what he was getting into, when he was falling to the Underworld, but when Katniss volunteered to take Prim’s place in the Hunger Games, she knew that she was risking her life. Gregor wasn’t prepared for fighting and what he going to do in the Underworld, whereas Katniss was put into training and could defend herself, if she were attacked. These two books are different because Hunger Games is more of a young adult book, but Gregor the Overlander is a children’s fantasy. The settings of these two books are different, because Hunger Games mainly takes place in the arena, and Gregor the Overlander takes place in the Underworld. In Gregor the Overlander there’s no romance, but in Hunger Games Katniss and Peeta are shown to the world as a couple.

The author, Suzanne Collins wrote both Hunger Games and Gregor the Overlander. She became a writer for children books, when she met James Proimos and decided to write children books herself. Gregor the Overlander was inspired by Alice In Wonderland. Gregor falls down into the Underworld just like Alice falls down the hole. Hunger Games was partly inspired by the Greek myth Theseus and the Minotaur. Besides the two series (Hunger Games and Underland) she has written Fire Proof in 1999 and When Charlie McButton Lost Power in 2005.

While I was reading these books, I used useful strategies such as visualizing and inferring. Using these skills made reading the books a lot better than just reading alone. I could taste what the characters tasted, smell what they smelled, see what they saw, feel what they felt, and I could hear what they heard. Predicting what would happen also made the book a lot better. Either the books could be read to find out what happens, or the reader could begin the books by predicting what will happen and making predictions along the way. The second way makes the books a whole lot more interesting, because it makes them interactive. After I finished each book, I thought about my predictions and how some of them were right, and some were wrong. I also thought how the story would change, if all of my predictions came true.

I would recommend both of these books. They were very enjoyable, and not one page did I think I would fall asleep. At first when I heard of Hunger Games, I wasn’t sure if I’d like it, because I wasn’t a fan of war. But everyone started reading it and saying that they loved it, so I decided that I would try it, and I loved it too! A friend also recommended I read Gregor the Overlander and I did, and I also enjoyed it. I would recommend Hunger Games to someone who didn’t mind gory chapters and war-like books, but who also liked a hint of romance. I would recommend Gregor the Overlander to someone who likes bugs, rats, and bats. Even if they didn’t, someone who’d enjoy a adventurous search with a adorable little sister who isn’t afraid of anything would likely enjoy this book for it is both adventurous and humorous.

In conclusion I enjoyed reading both of these books, and I’m planning to read both sequels! The writing was terrific, and once I got into the book, I devoured it whole. I think that Suzanne Collins is a great author and want to read more of her books as they get published. I’m also planning to see the Hunger Games once it comes out in 2011!

4 Book Series to Read if You Loved Hunger Games or Gregor the Overlander:

Like this:

Related

1 Comment

Kendra

Gregor and his little sister Boots are the kind of characters kids enjoy reading as they feel as if the characters are friends of theirs. Just like a real life friend, you think about them even after they move away. The characters in Bloodline: Alliance a new fantasy fiction book are like that. Although the setting may have elements of fantasy, the characters feel real.